School Description and Mission Statement (School Year 2018—19)

Opened in 1898, Luther Burbank Elementary School is one of the oldest elementary schools in Long Beach, serving a rich heritage of students for over 100 years. Burbank is a traditionally calendared school and is home to a population of nearly 800 kindergarten through fifth grade students, representing the linguistically and culturally diverse tradition found in Long Beach. Over 80% of our students qualify for free or reduced meals. Students, parents and staff have embraced the scholarly life.The fundamental strength of Burbank’s teaching structure is its collaborative nature. Burbank’s teaching fellowship is such that everyone is part of a combined effort to improve academic results by monitoring the effectiveness of their instruction. Our Mission is “ To create life-long learners who are successful in meeting personal, academic and social challenges.” Teachers adhere to the rigors of the California State Standards by building them into the blueprint of curriculum maps, and within the posted learning objectives. With the standards as key, monitoring effectiveness is achieved by grade level teams analyzing student work, and making decisions about instructional practices based on that student work. In addition, teachers as learners visit each other’s classes to observe firsthand, proven strategies that produce academic excellence, as well as articulate across grade levels to ensure each student is prepared for future challenges. Teachers are well supported in these endeavors by a committed support staff of Intervention teachers, RSP teacher, counselor, and principal. Quality communication between these groups facilitates the checks and balances that assure instruction is effective, and of a high quality for each student. The extraordinary staff that catapulted these students is comprised of an energetic group of individuals, with an enormous dedication to their profession. Teachers continually engage in professional development, such as Reading and Writing Workshops, Thinking Maps, ST Math, Cooperative Learning, Transitions in Pedagogy and GO Math. These developmental efforts have influenced the students to a point that the Burbank Scholars have now fashioned themselves to be readers and writers, who are always striving to exceed their personal goals. The school community at large has come together to become advocates of the children who call themselves “scholars.” Since its inception, Burbank’s doors have been open to the surrounding community, inviting parents and local businesses to participate in the development of a positive learning environment. Through our Volunteers in Public Schools (VIPS) program, frequent parent workshops, the families unite in support of these hard-working kids. The entire community takes great pride in inviting you to see what our Burbank scholars have achieved. Every student at Burbank participates in a challenging curriculum focused on language arts and math. Technology and the arts are integrated with these subjects to enhance academic achievement.Our focus in language arts is evident by the original student writings that fill our classrooms and hallways. Classroom libraries in every room, rich in collections of core literature, supplement our state reading series. Our teaching staff is highly trained and provides student experiences in reading and in writing workshop as well as other strategies that develop reading comprehension and skill in critical thinking and writing. Our current focused work involves aligning instruction to standards, targets, assessments, and curriculum. In math, our goal is for every student to become proficient in solving story problems and show understanding of math concepts. Students learn to create visual representations and explain their answers. Our expectation is also for students to master math facts in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Teachers monitor students' progress throughout the year to measure growth and mastery of state standards.